On a mild autumn day about three months ago, the head of China’s main sovereign wealth fund visited an office on Place Vendôme in Paris, just across from the Ritz Hotel. Accompanied by his staff — but with no attendant fanfare — Ding Xuedong, chairman of China Investment Corporation, had come to pay his respects to Dominique Senequier.
The meeting, captured by a photograph now sitting on the marble mantelpiece of Ms Senequier’s 18th-century wood-panelled office, is testament to the international clout of the French private equity fund manager.
The 61-year-old executive oversees $50bn of assets — the largest and most diversified platform of its kind in Europe — after spinning off her employer , Ardian, from French insurer Axa a year ago.